Work continues on the new Plumbers Local 130 Training Center at 1400 West Washington Boulevard in the West Loop. Ground was broken on the Gensler-designed training facility back in June; W.E. O’Neil has been hard at work ever since. The state-of-the-art, 50,000-square-foot project should be complete and ready to start training new plumbers next summer.
A rendering of the new Plumbers Local 130 Training Center, from the W.E. O’Neil website.
Thanks to a heads-up from Twitter user @ponjeters, it appears the recently-demolished Plumbing Industry Center posted last night will be replaced by a new, state-of-the-art Plumbers Local 130 Training Center.
Another render from the W.E. O’Neil website.
According to the website of contractor W.E. O’Neil, they are tasked with building a 120,000-square-foot facility that will replace the one Heneghan Wrecking just finished tearing down. Per the website:
“The project is being designed as (a) teaching tool for apprentices and will incorporate state-of-the-art technology and plumbing training workshops.”
The O’Neil website lists Gensler as the architect, and Chicago Journeymen Plumbers as the client.
The website has no location information other than “Chicago,” which still has a few more spaces to fill in besides this one at 1400 West Washington Boulevard. I sent an email to O’Neil last night in hopes of verifying the project’s address.
The now-destroyed Plumbing Industry Center at 1400 West Washington Boulevard in the West Loop.
A large hole in the ground where 1400 West Washington used to sit.
Hasn’t always been that way, of course. What used to be the “Plumbing Industry Center” (among other uses) building at 1400 West Washington Boulevard in the West Loop was a nice looking structure. But someone wanted it gone, so down it came. No word on what, if anything, will take its place. Maybe they just needed more room for the Randolph Street Market next door.
Don’t judge it by this gloomy day; it was a handsome structure.
There were excellent columns out front.
And this fantastic piece, front and center, at the top of the building. I hope this was saved.
Heneghan Wrecking, working from the back of the building toward Washington Blvd.
It always feels like such an invasion of privacy to see a building laid open like this.
A brief look inside.
“PUBLIC” no more.
The death certificate, if you will.
Building Up Chicago 